Professor Drake's research notes recorded that he collected information on citizens who claimed to have seen the Lake Goddess. After excluding those who were clearly making up stories, and combining local legends and folklore, he summarized five rules for seeing the “Lake Goddess.”
First, one must appear alone by the lake on the west side of Huntington City. One can have a mount or pet, but no other humanoid wisdom creatures can accompany him.
Second, when encountering the Lake Goddess, the sun must still be above the horizon, as no sightings have ever occurred in the dark of night.
Third, all who claimed to have encountered the “Lake Goddess” or entered “Lake Cherub,” including Professor Drake, were male. Even the protagonists rumored in local folklore stories were all male.
Fourth, those who encounter the Lake Goddess need to carry items that prove their “courage” and “wisdom,” which means a book and a weapon.
Fifth, and most importantly, if one constantly thinks about wanting to encounter the “Lake Goddess,” then one will certainly not meet her. Only by forgetting one’s purpose might one inadvertently turn around and see that legendary lake.
All the above rules were summarized by Professor Drake himself. Many people have seen these materials, and even the local Orthodox Church obtained them from Professor Drake, but no one has been able to see the rumored Goddess again.
However, for Xia De, having clues was better than having none, and the Professor’s summary seemed very reasonable.
He prepared his notebook, gun, and sword, then entered the City to visit Professor Drake, who was in a wheelchair, to discuss more detailed content. After having lunch in the City, he left the City again and headed to the western part of the City.
Unlike the vast plains and low hills in eastern Huntington, the western part of the City, being close to the Pantanal Great Swamp area, is mostly wetlands and lakes. Although the terrain is still relatively flat, it is not suitable for living because mist and miasma float out from the swamp area every Summer.
Adjacent to the western edge of Huntington City, there are also several smaller Towns. Further west, one can only see small farmhouses and orchards interspersed among the lakes.
The roads here are quite difficult to travel, and even when riding a horse, the hooves occasionally sink into mud pits on the road. The rural dirt roads receive no regular maintenance, and coupled with the influence of the Pantanal Great Swamp area, the infrastructure construction here can be said to be almost non-existent.
The clues Xia De currently had were not enough for him to directly find the rumored Lake Cherub where the Lake Goddess resided. Therefore, he decided to retrace the path Professor Drake took years ago, following the Professor’s notes.
The first stop was Lower Luther Village, located in the western part of Huntington City. The Professor started from this village back then, and there happened to be a “Lake Goddess” eyewitness in the village. The village name comes from the fact that the village is located south of Luther Lake, directly below Luther Lake on the map.
This was a typical Carson Rick rural village. When the neatly dressed Xia De arrived on horseback, the villagers cast curious glances but dared not approach too closely. It wasn't until Xia De, stepping through the mud and leading his reddish-brown horse, entered the village that the village constable cautiously approached and inquired about Xia De's purpose.
Most of the local villagers had heavy accents, but the middle-aged constable, who looked robust, had a very standard accent. When Xia De explained his purpose in his clumsy carson rick and expressed his wish to meet old Grafford, who claimed to have seen the Lake Goddess eight years ago, the constable happily agreed:
“Old Grafford loves to tell people this story. We initially enjoyed listening, but then he kept repeating it, and people grew tired. Sir, you come from a big City; perhaps you can’t understand our rural life here. It’s indeed interesting to hear others’ stories in boring days, but when that story has been repeated for eight years, no one can endure it.”
Old Grafford lived quite well in the small village. In his youth, he fished by Luther Lake, and later he dug his own fishponds to raise fish. Although his annual income was not as high as City dwellers, it was at least better than his fellow villagers who tilled the land.
When Xia De met the old man, he was sitting in a rocking chair, sunbathing in front of the gray-white mud wall of his house, with a string of cured meat hanging on the wall. When the thin old man looked at Xia De, Xia De noticed that his left eye socket was empty.
Due to some difficulty in communication between the two parties, the constable, who was idle and joined in the fun, acted as an interpreter.
The content of the conversation was simple. Xia De inquired about the past of the white-haired old Grafford. The talkative old man, with a heavy rural accent, described his “great adventure” from eight years ago in as much detail as possible.
The general process was that eight years ago, in the Winter of common era 1845, having nothing to do in Winter, on a snowy morning, Grafford, then 43 years old, carried a fishing rod, a bucket, and a notebook, intending to fish in the frozen Luther Lake.
He set off at eight in the morning and found a suitable spot on the lake at half past nine. After breaking the ice, his first cast actually caught a black snake, and that snake spoke:
“'I’m going to kill you,' it said.”
The old man excitedly described it to Xia De, and when he opened his mouth, Xia De could even clearly count the few remaining teeth he had.
Most people living in the countryside had seen snakes, but they had never seen a talking snake. In this era of generally low literacy and relative superstition, the old man was chased by that snake on the ice for more than twenty minutes before finally jumping onto the shore from the other side of Luther Lake. After entering a bare forest in Winter, the snake disappeared, but a large furry rabbit jumped out:
“'You’ve taken the wrong path,' it said.”
Old Grafford waved his hands, trying his best to imitate the voice of that rabbit, while the middle-aged constable was trying hard to hold back his laughter. It seemed that no matter how many times he had heard it, this story was still interesting to him.
That rabbit had no ill will towards old Grafford; instead, it kindly told him to leave the forest and advised him on how to avoid the snake. So, Grafford, not daring to approach Luther Lake again, decided to take a detour home, but as soon as he left the forest, he encountered a raven that flew from unknown where on the snowy country road:
“'I’ll tell you where you should go now,' it said!”
The old man telling the story became more and more excited, as if he was back in that “great adventure” again, and the wrinkles on his face piled up with a smile. Xia De kept a straight face and said nothing, listening to him continue.
Under the raven’s guidance, old Grafford, eight years ago, went further and further astray. After passing through an unfamiliar area of winter wetland shrubs, he actually encountered a small lake he had never seen before.
At that time, Grafford seemed to have received a “divine revelation.” He didn’t know how, but he stepped onto the frozen lake surface and entered the center of the lake, where he met a white-haired old woman on Lake Heart Island.
The old woman on Lake Heart Island invited Grafford to fish with her. Grafford, thinking he couldn’t go home empty-handed, agreed. He fished from noon until evening, and Grafford, who was very lucky, caught six large carp, while the old woman caught three.
“She said then that I had won against her, so she allowed me to make a wish.”
At this point, there seemed to be light in the old man’s eyes. This was clearly the climax of his memorable story.
“So what wish did you make?”
Xia De asked curiously, glancing at the constable, who was staring at him as if wanting to see what expression Xia De would show next.
“Yes, I asked for her fishing rod!”
Grafford said, raising both hands, and praised Xia De:
“Her fishing rod was really good. I’ve been fishing for so many years and have never seen such a pretty, sturdy, and convenient alloy telescopic fishing rod. The fishing line and matching hooks were also goods only seen in big Cities. Even if she didn’t give it to me, I would have been willing to trade my house for that fishing rod, so when she let me make a wish, I immediately agreed!”
“What happened next?”
Xia De asked curiously.
“Next?”
Grafford was stunned:
“Then I came back with the fishing rod and those fish.”
“Where are the fish?”
“They were eaten eight years ago. Did you expect me to keep them?”
“What about the fishing rod?”
“It was broken by my grandson, naughty little Louis, three years ago. I was sad for a while, and then people from the big cathedral in the City bought it for 10 pounds.”
Because Grafford’s story sounded more like a randomly made-up fairy tale, Xia De had to look at the constable, who was holding back his laughter, and the latter nodded:
“Yes, eight years ago, when Grafford came back with that pretty fishing rod and his story, it indeed attracted people from the City, but they were all there to listen to the story. As for that magical lake, Grafford himself couldn’t find it again even when he went looking. I bet he fell into the lake that day and was so frozen he became delirious. As for the fishing rod, I don’t know where he picked it up.”
He laughed heartily, and old Grafford was not annoyed; instead, he repeatedly explained to Xia De that his story was absolutely true. Although there were some minor embellishments in the details, the experience was definitely real.
Not only the Orthodox Church and Professor Drake, but many others had heard old Grafford’s story in this village. Most of them were very interested in the “Lake Goddess,” but no one was able to find that lake based on Grafford’s story.
But no matter what, at least this story was still very interesting, and Xia De felt that he had not wasted his time.
He left 1 pound for the old man as payment for listening to the story. Before leaving the village, Xia De also asked the enthusiastic middle-aged constable about what happened to old Grafford’s blind left eye. The latter asked strangely:
“Is this also related to his story? That left eye went blind many years ago.”
“When exactly?”
Xia De asked again, leading the reddish-brown horse, which was docilely eating the fodder piled outside a neighbor’s house for Winter, causing Xia De to have to pay 5 pence. However, the woman with her head wrapped in a headscar waved her hand, indicating she didn’t want money, so Xia De gave a few sugar cubes to her child.
“I really don’t know that. I was transferred here as constable from the next Town twelve years ago, and his eye was already blind then.”
The constable walked with Xia De, who was leading the horse, towards the village entrance, then loudly called out to the white-haired old man who was shirtless and blacksmithing at the village head:
“Hans, when did old Grafford’s eye go blind?”
“Damn it, how would I know?”
The blacksmithing old man cursed something in carson rick that Xia De couldn’t translate, then said:
“It went blind when it went blind.”
The middle-aged constable then turned to Xia De and shrugged:
“You see, country folk have no sense of time. If nothing memorable happened that year, people find it hard to distinguish between 1853 and 1852. However, old Grafford’s eye did go blind much earlier than the beginning of the story he tells.”
